Here's the final prototype for the new 1-18th scale model of the 1955 LaSalle Roadster Motorama car, as done by Minichamps. The Minichamps model will be on sale at the Amelia Concours, with a 1-43 scale model to come.

Pod Rods revs up for a very busy weekend of automotive events on Amelia Island next week, gets up on two wheels with news of the restoration of an amazing car, and looks at more new stuff coming to Geneva.

More information about what will pop at the upcoming Geneva motor show is coming out.

 Geneva will see the world debut of the new 4-seat Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, combining sportiness "with the luxury of a coupé made in Modena," the company says. The GranTurismo MC Stradale will be built at the historic factory in viale Ciro Menotti in Modena. Like the previous two seater version, the new four seater takes its inspiration from the racing version which competes in the Maserati Trofeo Championship. It's new exterior features are highlighted by the new carbon fiber hood with a central air intake and two rear extractors. It sits on new forged 20-inch alloy rims. Under the hood, a 4.7 liter, 460 hp V-8 and an MC Race Shift 6-speed robotised manual gearbox - top speed of 188 mph – with Brembo carbon ceramic brake discs. Land Rover will demonstrate the world's first nine-speed automatic transmission for a passenger car at the 2013 Geneva show. Its ZF 9HP transmission is designed for transverse applications, and says increasing the number of gear ratios from six to nine will help reduce emissions and improve efficiency. Smaller ratio steps also give improved response during acceleration, with improved shift quality and refinement. The torque converter incorporates a multi-stage damper system for smoother pull away and improved refinement. It is only .24 inches longer and weighs 16.5 lbs less than the outgoing six-speed transmission. The new nine-speed transmission will be produced at ZF's Gray Court facility in South Carolina. Top Gear is showing off Toyota's new FT-86 (Scion FR-S in the U.S.) Open concept ahead of this week's Geneva Motor Show. The convertible has the same platform and powertrain as the coupe a 2-liter, 200-hp , meaning there's a 200-hp flat-four 'boxer' engine from the folks at Subaru, with a nice 6-speed manual gearbox and power sent to the rear wheels. The new multi-layered fabric roof has a glass rear window and drops behind the fixed rear seats. Spain's new supercar has gotten more powerful as the latest version of the Spania GTA Spano heads to Geneva. First seen in 2009 with a 780-hp Dodge Viper V-10, it has evolved to have a body done in Kevlar, aluminum and carbon fiber, a roof that can go from opaque to clear at a button push and a biofuel engine with 820-hp. Now an even more powerful Spania GTA is coming, said to have 900 to 1,200-hp according to Autoblog.

It was designer Alex Tremulis futuristic vision of how we would all drive in the future as he saw it in 1967 - two wheels with a gyroscopic stabilization system. Now Nashville's Lane Motor Museum will restore the Gyro-X car in celebration of Tremulis' 100th birthday in 2014. The sleek Gyro-X was designed by Tremulis and built by Troutman and Barnes using a gyroscopic system and was issued a U.S. patent in September of 1969. The Gyro-X was the eminent car designer's proposal for a car that could balance itself thanks to Tremulis and Thomas Summers dreamed of creating vehicles that were more efficient, believing that gyroscopes would enable safer in-line vehicles by providing better control and preventing wheels from sliding out from under the vehicle during turns. Tremulis was inducted into the Automobile Hall of Fame in 1982. His career included positions in Cord Automobile, Duesenberg, General Motors, Tucker and Ford.To see film footage of it actually working back then, go here.

More news on what's coming to next weekend's 18th Annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance and the inaugural Festivals of Speed.

 It looks like one of Italy's most sensuous sports cars, but under its skin beats the American V-10 heart of a Viper. Now the TZ3 Stradale is coming to next weekend's 18th annual Amelia island Concours d'Elegance, a one of nine coupes built by the Italian design and engineering house Zagato to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo and its original Zagato-bodied Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ and TZ2s of the 1960s. The coupe will join the new next-generation SRT Viper and the 2014 Gen-7 Chevrolet Corvette as some of the newest cars at the classic car event held next Friday to Sunday in and around the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island. From 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday March 10, about 300 classics and race cars will be displayed at the official concours at the Golf Club of Amelia Island. Some classes will honor the 50th anniversary of the Porsche 911, Ford GT40, Lamborghini and Chevrolet Corvette and the race cars of concours honoree Sam Posey."We will have about eight cars that haven't been seen in 50 or more years," said concours founder and chairman Bill Warner. "It's always fun for me when someone who is really a connoisseur of automobiles come out and goes, 'I never knew that existed.' That makes my day."Sir Stirling Moss, the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance first Honorary Chairman in 1996, returns as a guest of next weekend's event in and around the Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island."Having Sir Stirling Moss at 'The Amelia' again is exciting," said Warner. "He's a genuine hero who's won every kind of race: Grands Prix, the great endurance sports car races, even rallies. His amazing, record-setting drive in the 1955 Mille Miglia in a Mercedes-Benz 300SLR remains a high water mark of automotive and human performance."

The concours will also honor the race cars of Harry Miller. His sleek Art Deco-designed open wheel racers dominated the Indy 500 with innovations like front-wheel-drive, one of them the supercharged Miller 91 that set a speed record in 1928. Coming from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame Museum, the car driven by Leon Duray set a speed record of 124.018 mph during Indy 500 qualifying. It never won the race, but raced in Europe and set more records.

 The inaugural Festivals of Speed comes to Amelia Island Friday and Saturday, bringing its luxury lifestyle show to the Omni Amelia Island Plantation at 6800 First Coast Highway.GT Joey, Author of "Ford GT - The Complete Owners Experience," will host a book signing at the festival's 8 p.m. Friday cocktail party at the Omni Amelia. The party is $150 per person.is attending Festivals of Speed for book a signing!Among the recently-announced cars set for display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at the Festivals of Speed show is the Porsche Panamera Stingray GTR and the 1973 Dino 246 GTS that won the 1975 Cannonball Run with Jack May and Rick Cline - New York to California in 35 hours and 53 minutes. Also set for display is the motorcycle used by The Fonz (Henry Winkler) on TV's Happy Days sitcom. a Jaguar XJ220 supercar, Ariel Atom, 2014 Aston Martin Vanquish, a number of Lexus LFA supercars, a Superformance Cobra Daytona Coupe and a 1957 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, chassis No. 1. For more information on the event, $20 per person, as well as the Friday Evening luxury Lifestyle Cocktail Reception ($150 per person), go to at www.festivalsofspeed.com.

Here's the facts on McLaren Automotive's P1 super car, released ahead of its global reveal at Geneva. The car's Instant Power Assist System gives it a zero to 62 mph time of less than 3 seconds. Top speed is electronically limited to 218 mph. The McLaren P1 has translated to production form with very little changed from the prototype shown at the Paris Auto Show, one the addition of ducts ahead of each of the front wheels to aid cooling and optimize downforce. Only 375 will be made at a base price of $1.15 million, for both road and track use. The P1 has mid-mounted 3.8-liter twin-turbo V-8 gas engine aoupled to an electric motor to give a combined output of 903-hp. The car can be driven solely in electric mode.

Here are some wild videos to entertain you: Take one 2013 Audi RS4 Avant (station wagon) and add a paintball cannon. Take another Avant and also arm it. Put the pair in a huge airplane hangar and let them play. Here's what happens.

So you may have seen the retro-style Grey Poupon mustard commercial during Sunday's Academy Awards using two heavily-modified older Rolls-Royces and two actors to recreate the iconic "Pardon Me" 1981 commercial. But have you seen the extended cut? The actors, one looking like one-time 007 actor George Lazenby, the other sounding like Monty Python's John Cleese, do epic battle 'tween the two Rolls-Royces, much more seen in this "Lost Footage" spot, which we present here.

Spring is coming (after the cold snap), and there are more car events coming too:

Florida cruise-ins:• Informal cruise-in - 7 to 9 a.m. every Saturday at the Krispy Kreme doughnut shop at 11117 San Jose Blvd. in Mandarin.• First Coast Car Council - 5 to 8 p.m. today at Kmart, 380 Blanding Blvd. at Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park. The Car Council's second Saturday (2-9) cruise-in has moved to the Medical and Merchants Center at 11701 San Jose Blvd.• Sunshine State Chevelles - 4 to 7 p.m. today at Krystal's, 8015 Merrill Road.• Clay County Cruizers - 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, Big Dawgs Family Sports Restaurant, 1330 Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park.• North Florida Street Rod - 4 to 7 p.m. today at the Kmart at 1501 Normandy Village Parkway, off Normandy Boulevard.• Jacksonville Truck Nights - 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. the first Thursday of each month at Round Boys Grill, 11629-8 San Jose Blvd., and 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at Brewer's Pizza, 14B Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park.

Georgia cruise-ins:• Southeast Georgia Car and Truck Club cruise-ins - 6 p.m. the second Saturday of each month at Sonic's, 395 Charlie Smith Senior Highway, St. Marys; and 6 p.m. on the fourth Saturday of each month at the Millhouse Steakhouse, 1215 East King Ave. in Kingsland, next to Interstate 95.• Bike Enthusiasts show - 7 p.m. the first and third Thursdays, Cavagnaro's restaurant at 1810 South GA Parkway W. in Waycross.• Zaxby's Car Show - 6 to 9 p.m. the third Saturday of every month, Zaxby's at 2316 Memorial Drive in Waycross.